


Let's Play A Game

by Lil_Shit



Category: Bipper - Fandom, Gravity Falls, billdip - Fandom
Genre: Bill Cipher - Freeform, BillDip, Bipper, Blood, Bloodplay, BoyxBoy, Death, Depression, Dipper Pines - Freeform, Disney, Fluff, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Grunkle Ford - Freeform, Grunkle stan - Freeform, Illuminati, Insanity, M/M, Mabel Pines - Freeform, Murder, Pyramid, Smut, Stanford Pines - Freeform, Stanley Pines - Freeform, Torture, Unicorns, Waddles - Freeform, Yaoi, demonic, equilateral triangle, rainbow sweaters, shmebulock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Shit/pseuds/Lil_Shit
Summary: "Pinetree~"
The voice echoed in his ears, taunting him in an almost playful manner. Dipper couldn't tell where it had come from, but a cold feeling of dread gripped him at the sound of it.





	1. Nightmares and Star-Shaped Pancakes

_It was dark._

_Dipper’s footsteps were the only sound in the woods, the crunch of dry leaves beneath his feet ricocheting off the trees. The cool air stung his knees, which were bloody and raw from falling on the hard forest floor so many times. But he pushed himself to run faster, to endure the angry sting just a bit longer._

_Because if he didn’t, he would die._

_“Pinetree~”_

_The voice echoed in his ears, taunting him in an almost playful manner. Dipper couldn’t tell where it had come from, but a cold feeling of dread gripped him at the sound of it, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end._

_He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, as if something was chasing him, eliciting shrill laughter from the dream demon that hunted him._

_“Not there, Pines~!”_

_In his panic, Dipper’s shoelace snagged on a fallen tree branch and he went tumbling to the ground, his ankle twisting sideways with an audible “snap”._

****

Dipper woke with a gasp, the beginnings of a pained scream caught in his throat. His nightshirt clung to his skin, soaked with sweat. He pushed himself upright, causing the scratchy blanket he slept under to slip off his shoulder. He rubbed his face, realization that it had only been a dream flooding his mind. But it had been the third nightmare that week...

"Bro-Bro?" the bedroom door creaked open, and Mabel's concerned face came into view. "You okay?"

Dipper nodded, sliding out of bed. He cringed at the cold temperature of the hardwood floor, and crossed the room to retrieve his slippers from his bottom dresser drawer. "Just a nightmare, Mabel."

"Oh." Mabel looked as if she wanted to say more, but instead changed the subject, reverting back to her cheery self. "I made star-shaped pancakes~"

A smile slid onto Dipper's face, and he approached his sister, ruffling her hair despite her loud objections. "Thanks, Mabes. Sounds good." He pushed the bedroom door open the rest of the way, stepping out into the hall. As he made his way towards the kitchen, the smell of freshly made pancakes reached his nostrils and he inhaled deeply, quickening his pace as hunger arose in the pit of his stomach. Mabel was on his heels, eager for him to enjoy her breakfast creation.

He ate five pancakes (that somewhat resembled stars if you looked hard enough), thanked his sister, and then retreated back to his room to get dressed. As he was slipping into his jeans, Mabel's voice rang out on the other side of the door, "Hey, Dip-Dip?"

Dipper sighed and zipped his pants up, then reached for his shirt. "Yeah, Mabel?"

"How long has it been since we left Gravity Falls?"

He paused at the question, his arms barely through the sleeves of his t-shirt. They'd left Gravity falls after Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford died. It had been mainly Dipper's decision. He was fourteen years old at the time, and grief-stricken. He didn't want to be anywhere that reminded him of the two deceased Pines brothers. "Uh... it's been almost five years...why?"

There was a moment of silence before he received a quiet reply, "I miss it... we used to have so much fun, Dipper. Plus, it's been like _forever_ since we've seen Wendy and the gang."

Dipper finished dressing and opened the door. He had to look down to be making eye contact with his sister, as he was almost a foot taller than her. "So what are you saying?" He already knew what she wanted. The unspoken question was visible in her eyes.

"Do you think maybe... we could go back? Just to visit?"

Dipper sighed. "Mabel..."

"Please?" she pleaded, sensing his reluctance. "Please please pleaseeeee?" her eyes seemed to grow larger and more luminous, and her lower lip quivered.

"...Fine." he grunted, then gasped for breath as he was engulfed in a giant Mabel hug.

"Thanks Bro-Bro!"

"Y-Yeah... gah... you're welcome, sis... now... can't breathe..."

Mabel observed her brother's bright red face as he strained in her grip, and giggled, letting go. "Sorry!"

Dipper took a large gulp of air, feeling his lungs expand. "Yeah... now go pack, okay?"

"You got it, bro!"

He watched as she skipped off to her room, humming happily to herself.

He might regret this.

 


	2. Neverending Counting Sheep

Dipper winced as the bus hit yet another bump, resulting in his head cracking against the grimy glass window. Sighing, he gave up on trying to regain lost hours of sleep and sat upright. His gaze landed on Mabel, who sat with a sock puppet on each hand. She giggled and pretended to have a conversation with them, making them speak back to her and rattle their large googly eyes.

"Why of course Mr. Foot Fungus, I'll let you drink some Mabel juice when we get there!" She exclaimed with a laugh.

Dipper didn't know whether to cringe or smile as he watched his eighteen-year-old sibling. He had to admit that sometimes her sense of humor was the only thing that could make him crack a grin. After all they'd been through, her spark hadn't faded. Hadn't even flickered. He wished he could say the same for himself.

"What's that? You want to talk to Dipper?" Mabel cocked her head and stared at the puppet on her right hand, seeming to contemplate its... request. "Okay! I don't think he'll mind!"

Dipper jumped as he was suddenly confronted with two large plastic eyes dangerously close to his face. "Mabel--"

"Shhh! Mrs. Toe Jam wants to talk to you!" Mabel frowned, waving the puppet in front of him.

Dipper stared at her in disbelief, opening his mouth to object, but was interrupted.

"Don't be such a buttface! Talk to her or she'll cast a spell on your feet and turn your toenails yellow." his sister glared at him, still holding the puppet out persistently.

With a heavy sigh, he focused his gaze on the sock, looking at it's poorly drawn eyelashes. "Uh...hi, Mrs. Toe Jam...what did you want to..." he trailed off as a water tower came into view outside the window, the words 'Gravity Falls' printed on the side in large letters. A strange feeling arose inside of him, and his fingers curled around the edges of the bus seat tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Mabel had seen it too, and in a matter of seconds she was at the front of the bus, demanding that the driver go faster so they could hurry up and get there.

Dipper inhaled deeply, then exhaled, telling himself to calm down. _It's just a stupid town, man. You came here every chance you got for three years. Chill._

"Alright, kids. This is your stop."

The bored voice of the bus driver snapped Dipper out of his mood, and he slowly got to his feet, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. Mabel was already outside, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Dipper! Hurry up!"

With a huff, the teenage boy thanked the driver before stepping off the bus, and onto the soil of Gravity Falls. Mabel engulfed him in a hug, bouncing up and down at the same time, which caused Dipper some discomfort.

"I can't believe we're here! I gotta text Wendy." she said excitedly, quickly releasing him to pull out her phone.

"Wha...?" Dipper peered over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. "You told me you didn't have Wendy's number."

Mabel flashed a guilty smile. "Maybe I was trying to keep my dumb brother from getting ahold of it and making a fool of himself~" she teased, booping his nose. "Boop!"

Dipper scowled, clenching his fists at his sides. "I wouldn't make a fool of myself."

"Oh _sure_ you wouldn't." his sister cleared her throat, then proceeded to pretend to be Dipper, holding the phone to her ear and speaking in a low manly voice. "Hello? W-Wendy? Yeah, it's me, Dipper. And I just wanted to say that I'm hopelessly in love with you... marry me please!" she then began making kissy noises.

"Hey!" Dipper tried to snatch the phone from her to end her charade, and Mabel ducked out of the way, laughing.

Frowning deeply, Dipper glared at her, crossing his arms.

"Aw, cheer up, Dippy-Dip!" she chirped, poking his cheek. "I was kidding!"

"I know," he chuckled, finally cracking a smile. "Now let's get going, it's getting dark."

 

******

 

_The Mystery Shack was just like it was when they left it. The 's' was still missing from the sign, making it read 'Mystery Hack', and Waddles' grave still had the fake flowers on top of it that Mabel had left there years ago._

_Dipper was shocked however, to find the door unlocked. He cast a slightly worried glance at Mabel, who shrugged and pushed past him, disappearing inside._

_"Mabel!" He hissed, hurrying inside after her. "We don't know if anyone has been here, or worse, if they still are!"_

_"Oh don't be such a worry wart, silly." Mabel called back to him. "Come check out our old room! It's super dusty!"_

_Dipper carefully made his way through the shack and towards the stairs, unable to shake his paranoia. He felt like something was watching him..._

_"Dipper!"_

_"I'm coming, I'm coming!"  he shouted, quickening his pace. He reached the top of the stairs and had to cover his nose, the dust was almost unbearable. Their beds were covered in a thick layer of it, and you could barely see the brown hardwood floor through the grime. He could still make out the flower on Mabel's headboard, just barely. Wait... where was Mabel?_

_"Shit..." Dipper cursed as he saw that his sister wasn't in the room. Hadn't she been there when she called him? "Mabel!"_

_He received bone-chilling silence in response._

_Panicking, he stumbled back down the attic stairs and began searching every inch of the shack for his twin, to no avail._

_She was gone._

_"Please be dreaming, please be dreaming, please be dreaming..." Dipper muttered to himself, tugging at his hair. "She was just with me!"_

_"Don't be so sure, Pinetree!"_

_He froze, eyes going wide. That voice..._

_"You know, it's rude to not make eye contact when someone is speaking to you, kid~"_

_In an instant, Dipper felt himself be lifted off the ground by an unidentified blue energy, and turned to face none other than the triangular dream demon himelf.  "Bill," he hissed, narrowing his eyes. "What have you done to Mabel?"_

_Bill's eye scrunched up as he laughed. "Your sister's fine! She's asleep in her own bed. It's just you and me, Pinetree~!" he floated around Dipper, twirling his cane in one hand._

_Dipper's brow furrowed. "So... this is a dream?"_

_"Bingo! Give the kid a prize!" the evil triangle snapped his fingers, conjuring a rotting severed head._

_The smell made Dipper gag and cover his nose, turning away._

_Bill's eye narrowed. "Rejecting a gift. Rude. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"  he snapped his fingers again, and the head disappeared._

_Dipper uncovered his nose and turned to glare at the dream demon. "What do you want?"_

_"Excellent question! I gotta hand it to you Pinetree, you'd make a great interrogator."_

_"Shut up! I know you're the one that's been giving me nightmares for the past month! I want to know why!" Dipper seethed, taking a step toward the well-dressed triangle._

_"Gee, you're a lot braver than I remember..." Bill mused, disappearing into thin air._

_Dipper then heard his voice close to his ear, "I like that~"_

_"Stop playing games! I want answers! How are you even here?!" he demanded, whirling around, only to find himself talking to empty air._

_"Boringgg~!" Bill cackled from behind him._

_Dipper let out a yelp as he suddenly found himself strapped to a wooden table in... the Mystery Shack's basement?_

_He barely registered the glint of a blade in his peripheral vision as Bill's manic laughter filled the room._

_"I'm tired of twenty questions... let's play a different game! It's called Murder. I made it up just now. The rules? I cut you up and you scream as loud as you can. Ready?"_

_Dipper couldn't move. A scream began to rise in his throat, and he couldn't take his eyes off the knife as it slowly descended toward him._

_"Let's play~!"_

 

 

 

 


	3. Marked

Dipper's eyes snapped open as the sound of a terrified shriek reached his ears. It took him a minute to realize the shriek had come from his own mouth. He struggled to calm his heart rate as he stared up at the Mystery Shack ceiling, taking slow breaths.

And then the burning started. It started small, feeling no worse than a paper cut, and steadily grew larger, until Dipper felt as if someone had dipped him in white hot fire. Bolting upright with a shout, he ripped the front of his nightshirt open, revealing angry red lines down his torso that stood out on his pale skin like blood in snow. He choked suddenly, coughing as he realized he had stopped breathing momentarily. On the other side of the room, Mabel stirred, then sat up tiredly.

"Dip-N-Dots?" She questioned, her voice laced with sleep as she rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing up? It's still dark out."

"I-I-I..." Dipper struggled to form words, losing his breath once more as the red lines arranged themselves before his eyes, taking the shape of a triangle with a single eye. All at once his fear evaporated, replaced by anger. "What the fuck?!" he fumed, stumbling out of bed. "That goddamned demon!"

"Dipper!" Mabel was wide awake now, and she quickly left the warmth of her blankets, grabbing her brother's wrist. "What's going--" her words faded into nothing as her eyes landed on Dipper's chest, that was now seeping blood. "Is that..?"

"Yeah," Dipper ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "It is." He started to button his shirt back up, slightly embarrassed by the fact that Bill had practically marked him, and Mabel was staring at it with a strange look on her face.

Before he could register what was happening, Mabel seized his wrists, bringing his buttoning to an abrupt halt. "Alright, Bro-Bro. Let's get you cleaned up. I mean seriously, you've got blood all over you."

Dipper allowed himself to be dragged down the attic stairs and to the bathroom, where Mabel pointed to the edge of the tub and commanded him to sit. "Really, Mabel, this isn't--" he started to object, only to be silenced by his sister's hand over his mouth.

"Nope! No getting out of it." She said, retrieving bandages and rubbing alcohol from the cabinet beside the sink. She then plucked a clean washcloth from the shelf beside the shower, dousing it in rubbing alcohol and sitting beside Dipper on the edge of the tub. "This is gonna sting, Dip-Dip."

"Whatever, just get it over with," he muttered, bracing himself for the sting.

Nothing could've prepared him for what happened next.

As Mabel brought the cloth closer to his chest, searing pain shot through him, causing him to cry out and jerk away from her. "Shit, Mabel, you didn't say it was going to feel like my fucking skin was melting off!"

Mabel's eyes were wide as she stared at the blood that now covered the tub and the floor, then slowly turned her gaze to Dipper. "I didn't even touch you..."

Dipper frowned. "What?" He was sure she had done something... pain like that didn't just come out of nowhere.

"I hadn't even touched you yet. I was about to and then you started spazzing out and now there's blood all over the place." Mabel's tone was scolding, like a mother's. "I have to clean this up now, Dipper. At least try to be considerate and keep your bleeding self  _inside_ the tub."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm in unbearable pain." Dipper hissed, rolling his eyes. He held out his hand. "Give me the damn rag. I'll do it myself."

Mabel opened her mouth to object, but Dipper cut her off with a firm, "Now, Mabel!"

His sister glared icily at him, but placed the cloth in his outstretched hand. Then she got to her feet and left the bathroom in a huff, slamming the door so hard items on the shelves clattered to the floor. 

Dipper made a mental note to apologize to her later. But for now, he needed to focus. "Alright, so... clean the wound. Right," he mumbled to himself, taking a deep breath before slowly placing the rag against the torn flesh. He winced, waiting for the pain. Nothing. Not even the slightest sting. So why had it been so painful when Mabel tried it? 

 

An hour later, torso bandaged somewhat tidily, Dipper sat in Grunkle Stan's old recliner and worried at his lower lip, accidentally drawing blood as he struggled to find a logical explanation for the events that unfolded an hour before. Nothing fit. He couldn't even begin to piece the puzzle together. It was like a thousand piece jigsaw with not one piece that fit into another. It simply didn't work. It was seemingly unsolvable. Groaning, he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes. He was exhausted. The nightmares were beginning to really wear on him, and it showed. The cringe-worthy dark circles under his eyes were unmistakable evidence. 

A crash sent a jolt through him, and in seconds he was on his feet. "Mabel?" He questioned, heading in the direction of the sound. "You okay?" He rounded the corner that led him to the kitchen, and was immediately smacked in the face with an oven mitt. 

"Don't take another step! There's broken glass on the floor and you're barefoot." Mabel had one arm stretched out in his direction, as if it would keep him from coming closer, while the other worked to pick up tiny glass shards and place them in a dustpan. 

Dipper arched a brow. "Why couldn't you just use a broom?"

"I may have disassembled it to use the bristles in a craft of mine... don't judge me! Sometimes to achieve fabulousness, you have to make sacrifices." 

"...Uh huh." The male sibling didn't even try to understand what his sister had just said. "So, Mabel, about earlier..."

Mabel's glass-picking halted, and a frown settled on her face. "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry for snapping like that. Truth is, I'm super nervous about being in Gravity Falls again, and the nightmares... they're really starting to get to me. I'm at my wit's end, and I just... in the stress of the moment, I exploded. I'm sorry." Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed about how awkward he sounded. A long silence followed, and he contemplated just walking away. He almost did, but a blur of purple tackling him to the ground stopped him. He grunted as his back hit the floor, knocking the breath from his lungs.

"It's okay, Dip-Dip. I forgive you." Mabel mumbled into his chest, squeezing him tight.

Dipper ignored the pain it was causing him and draped his arms around his sister, hugging her back. They were still for a while, neither of them speaking, until Mabel jumped up.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got a kitchen and a bloody bathroom to clean!" She giggled before prancing off.

Dipper stayed on the floor for a few more seconds before slowly pushing himself upright, biting back a grunt as his chest throbbed. He sighed and got to his feet, running a hand down his tired face. Stubble pricked his fingertips. He needed to shave soon. Glancing at the clock, he saw the neon numbers flashing 12:00 over and over again. He'd forgotten to set it after he'd had the power to the shack cut back on.  _What time is it, anyway?_ He asked himself. He looked out the window. Still dark. It had to be around three or four in the morning. And Mabel was wide awake. He suppressed a chuckle. 

_Bzzzzt._

_Bzzzzt._

Dipper flinched as the lights flickered, sounds of crackling electricity filling the room. "Mabel, what are you doing?" He called, shielding himself as sparks rained down from the light fixture above him. 

"It's not me, Dipper!" She called back, sounding genuinely worried. 

The floor began to vibrate. Dipper struggled to maintain his balance as the tremors grew in force, stumbling across the room. 

Mabel was suddenly beside him, clinging to him for dear life as pictures fell off the wall, and light bulbs shattered. 

And then, as suddenly as it had started, it ceased. Both siblings stood frozen, listening, waiting for it to start again. When it didn't, they both relaxed, only to yelp as a crash sounded below the shack, followed by a shriek. 

Something, or  _someone,_ was in the basement.

 


End file.
